Hospitalist movers and shakers – Nov. 2018
George Kasarala, MD, recently was named the hospitalist medical director at Nash UNC Health Care in Rocky Mount, N.C. Dr. Kasarala will guide Nash UNC’s team of hospitalists, a program that has partnered with Sound Physicians.
Dr. Kasarala has a wealth of hospitalist experience, serving in a variety of positions since 2012. He comes to Nash UNC from Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, N.C. Prior to that, he was the associate hospitalist program director at the Apogee Hospitalist program in Elkhart, Ind.
In addition to his medical degree from Saint Louis University, Dr. Kasarala holds a master of business administration from the University of Findlay (Ohio).
Dr. Donald W. Woodburn
Donald W. Woodburn, MD, has been selected as the new medical director at Carolinas Primary Care in Wadesboro, S.C. The longtime internist and hospitalist will stay in his role directing primary care for the facility, which is operated by Atrium Health.
A 35-year veteran in the medical field, Dr. Woodburn most recently was medical director for AnMed Hospitalist Services in Anderson, S.C. He has been a medical director in New York, Florida, and South Carolina since earning his medical degree from Howard University in Washington.
Rita Goyal, MD, has been hired as chief medical officer of ConcertCare, a health care technology company based in Birmingham, Ala. Dr. Goyal has expertise in both medicine and business was cited as the key to her appointment. She founded a Web-based medical consultation business in 2017, virtualMDvisit.net.
Dr. Goyal is an academic hospitalist at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and will continue to serve as a hospitalist and in the University’s urgent care system.
Nirupma Sharma, MD, has been named chief of the newly minted division of pediatric hospital medicine at Augusta (Ga.) University Health. Dr. Sharma will oversee the pediatric hospitalist staff, including education, research, and clinical assistance.
Dr. Sharma has been the medical director of the 4C unit at Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta. She also has served as associate director of the Medical College of Georgia’s department of pediatrics clerkship program.
Dr. Vineet Arora
Vineet Arora, MD, MHM, was recently named one of the top 10 doctors to follow on Twitter by Becker’s Hospital Review. Dr. Arora is an academic hospitalist at University of Chicago Medicine.
Using the hashtag #meded, Dr. Arora provides a wealth of medical knowledge on Twitter, currently boasting more than 29,000 followers on that social media platform. She also serves as the Journal of Hospital Medicine’s deputy social media editor, and blogs about topics trending in resident education.
BUSINESS MOVES
Aspirus Iron River (Mich.) Hospital has partnered with iNDIGO Health Partners to create a telehealth hospitalist program at night. iNDIGO, a private hospitalist group, will utilize two-way video to treat Aspirus patients during overnight hours.
The telehealth providers with iNDIGO are part of the staff at Aspirus Iron River and are familiar with the facility’s procedures. The remote physicians will be in contact with staff at the hospital, providing direction after meeting with patients via the video system.
The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus in El Paso, Tex., intends to have specialists on site at all times for expectant mothers after recently adopting an obstetric hospitalist program. The OB hospitalists will be available to treat patient concerns and medical emergencies that occur outside of normal hours for patients’ primary obstetricians.
All OB hospitalists will be board-certified OB physicians. The goal is to decrease wait times for expectant mothers, who can receive immediate assessments and treatment upon arrival in the emergency department.
